The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs showcased Denmark’s energy approach at a workshop on district energy and energy efficiency in Canada’s capital. Read the Minister's speech here. Photo credit: Trade Council of Denmark

On Tuesday May 9th the Danish District Energy Alliance held a workshop about transitioning energy systems to deliver low carbon and green energy to federal buildings in Ottawa’s city centre.

The workshop gathered Canadian utilities, investors, energy companies, contractors and key stakeholders in the district energy industry in Canada. Along with the utility company in Copenhagen (HOFOR), members of the Danish District Energy Alliance shared their experiences and lessons learned in steam to hot water conversions in North America and Europe.

Compared to other energy systems, the federally-owned system in Ottawa represents one of the most ambitious in Canada at the moment – both in terms of technology and size. The Minister stressed how the Danish technology is not confined to Denmark and Europe, but is available globally and even right here in Canada.

Closing the workshop, a panel discussion covered how more district energy projects can become a reality and what tools exist to get them operational, with EY Canada, InstarAGF, ENMAX DE and the Decentralised Energy Advisory from the Trade Council North America.

The purpose of the workshop was to share experiences on district energy with steam to hot water conversions, energy planning, engineering solutions, ensuring high quality construction, and operation. This will enable the Canadian government to lower greenhouse gas emissions and allow more renewable resources in their future energy supply.

Left to right: Urecon/Logstor's Carl Vreugde and Jean Laganierre; Ramboll Energy's Niels Vilstrup and John Rathbone; HOFOR's Magnus Foged; Trade Council of Denmark in Toronto's Charlotte Lange and Jakob Schmidt; Logstor's Jørgen Ægidius and Jakob Bjerregaard from the Danish Embassy in Washington. Photo credit: Trade Council of Denmark

For more information on district energy in Canada, please contact Jakob Schmidt, +1 647 400 7305, jakosc@um.dk at the Danish Consulate in Toronto